


Fifteen Seconds

by lancelitttle (lancelot2point0)



Category: BBC Merlin, Merlin (TV), Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Gwen and Elyan are twins, Gwen is badass and smart, Leon is in awe, Pre-Canon, She's Amazing, they're kids in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28647798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lancelot2point0/pseuds/lancelitttle
Summary: Gwen and Elyan take Leon frog hunting.
Relationships: Elyan & Gwen (Merlin), Gwen & Elyan & Leon (Merlin), Gwen & Leon (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13
Collections: Gwen Fest





	Fifteen Seconds

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for week one of the 2021 Gwen Fest.  
> This week's prompt was 'Canon-Era', so based on a single line that I can't remember the episode of, I present Kid! Gwen, Elyan and Leon going frog hunting.

Gwen drummed her heels against the well worn stone of the short wall.

Leon was late.

If it were anyone else Gwen would have left by now, however she knew that Leon was not, even at only thirteen years old, the type of person to be late. The only reason for his not being here was that something had happened. If, she decided, he had not appeared within the next ten minutes then she would go and find him.  
  
Five minutes passed. Gwen counted them the way her father had been teaching her and Elyan. One - Camelot-and, Two-Camelot-and.. There were sixty Camelots in a minute. It only took fifteen Camelots to quench a blade that had been in the making for at least three days. Those fifteen seconds were the make or break moment, quite literally, when it came to forging a sword.

There were 45 Camelots left for Leon to appear, and as far as she could see in the rapidly fading light there was nothing but field all around.  
Thirty and it was slightly darker with still no sign of the blonde haired boy.  
Fifteen left.  
Gwen slid off the wall and dusted her hands on her skirt.  
Ten.  
There was a blurry movement in the distance and Gwen dropped into a slight crouch. It would not be good if she was found here by anyone except Leon.  
Five, and there was a figure moving towards her.  
Zero.  
Gwen breathed a sigh of relief as she registered the golden curls tumbling out of the scarf Leon had wrapped, inexpertly, around his head in an attempt to hide the tell-tale hair. Despite his failed attempts to hide his hair, the rest of Leon's clothes helped him blend into the dusk and Gwen smiled. He was near enough now to see her if she stood and so Gwen did, calling his name softly.

Hearing her voice Leon turned her direction, a wide smile on his face, "Gwen!" She smiled in answer, and his dropped slightly, "Sorry I took so long," he kicked at the ground a little, "I almost ran into some of the guests and had to hide until they left the room I was in, " he sighed, "then I had to take some meat from the kitchen to bribe the dogs with so they wouldn't bark. You weren't here too long I hope?"  
  
He worried his bottom lip a bit and Gwen thought it was very sweet of him to be concerned about how long she had been there.  
"You'll make a good knight one day Leo," she smiled, " you've already got the chivalry down."

"There's more to being a knight than being chivalrous, Gwen." His eyes widened slightly, "One must be courageous and kind and- "

"Yes, yes I know Leon," Gwen turned to climb back over the wall.  
She knew that if she left him Leon would recite all the virtues a knight should have, and how those virtues should be shown, with examples of actual knights. As long as she had known him, Leon's greatest wish was to become a knight.

"Tonight though, you are going to learn something that no knight can teach you," Gwen beckoned for him to come closer, "we're going to teach you how to catch frogs!"

Finding she could not quite reach his head, Leon dropped to one knee and Gwen fussed with the scarf for a few moments before patting the top of his head and stepping back in satisfaction.

Gwen led Leon down and through the lower town, where she lived with her parents and brother, and to the small river that supplied their water. The moon was full that night, illuminating the figures of frogs and children alike spread out randomly around the river. It took barely a moment to find Elyan and the trio moved a little ways away from the main part of the river to the twins' favourite frog spot. The ground was a little more marshy here, the frogs preferred that, and sometimes they found other interesting creatures or unusual frogs.

Elyan, as always, was the first to spot a frog. When she realised what her twin was doing Gwen paused her own hunt for a moment and nudged Leon, motioning in Elyan's general direction.  
Leon watched Elyan with fascination. He tracked the frog first with his eyes, then with soft careful steps so as not to alert the creature to his presence. When he deemed himself close enough, Elyan would squat down and grab at the frog. Sometimes he would miss, or the frog would jump and Elyan would grab at it again but overbalance and land in the soft mud. Most of the time he would get the frog and then stare at it for a moment before either throwing it towards the river or putting it in a little bag that he had laid on a flat rock.

After a few failed attempts of his own Leon decided to watch Gwen instead and hopefully acquire a less muddy way of trying to capture the amphibians.

Gwen was more methodical in her hunt. She had a little pouch of pebbles tied to her waist and a net. She wasn't as careful as Elyan about concealing her presence from the frogs and her steps were firm and steady. When she spotted a frog, Gwen would take a moment to observe it. The way it was facing was the most important thing to note, that would let you know the general direction that the frog would move. Next she would toss a pebble near the frog, close enough to cause it to tense up, but far enough so it did not jump yet. The moment after, Gwen threw a second pebble and the net at the same time. The frog would jump, meet the net and then the ground. Gwen then calmly walked over and retrieved the animal, studying it in a manner similar to Elyan before releasing or bagging it.

Leon reluctantly returned to Elyan's method of frog trapping. Gwen was in full focus mode and no explanation would be forthcoming at the moment, Leon knew. By the end of two hours Leon had one frog, Elyan had three and Gwen had managed to catch another three and found a salamander. Leon surrendered his frog to Gwen, who handed the bags to Elyan as they parted ways.

As they walked back through the town, moon now high in the inky sky, Gwen explained her method to an intrigued Leon.  
  
It took fifteen seconds, once the frog was located.  
The first five were spent observing the frog. You have to know where the frog will jump.  
At eight seconds the first pebble is tossed. If the frog is going to change its direction, it will do it now.  
At nine seconds the second pebble is tossed, it needs to land as close behind the frog as possible. This will make it jump.  
At ten seconds the net is thrown.  
The last five seconds are out of your hands, literally.  
If you've thrown the net right and the frog jumps in the direction you thought it would then at 12 seconds the frog would meet the net, and at fifteen seconds they would both be on the ground again, leaving you free to collect the frog.

Listening to her talk, Leon couldn't help but feel a slight shiver of fear run down his spine. There was no doubt in his mind that Gwen would be able to achieve anything she set her mind to.

The fear was replaced with awe when Gwen turned and smiled at him, wishing him a good night and hugging him before melting into the shadows and he understood now that she chose to be kind and helpful despite how easy the alternative would be.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed this! 
> 
> A huge Thank You to my dear RangeroftheSouth for inspiring the ending for this fic!
> 
> If you'd like to leave a comment letting me know what you thought, or any errors I might have missed that would be awesome!  
> You can find me on tumblr @twosidesofthesameidiot or @lancelitttle if you're so inclined, I promise I won't bite 
> 
> Have a wonderful day/night !


End file.
